Rhea
by writer no. 02140617
Summary: Takes place after Apprentice. Robin is still getting back into the swing of things, and dealing with flashbacks, as well as how his teammates have changed without their leader around. While searching for Slade, the team finds someone else.Mostly Robin POV
1. Chapter 1

A.N.: So, this is my first story ever! Please review, tell me what I can change to make it better! Also, tell me what you liked and want to see more of.

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Chapter 1:

"Man, this is creepy," said Beast Boy out loud. "I bet even Slade wouldn't want to come back here…"

"Keep looking anyway," crackled Robin over the communicator. "We weren't able to track him down after he ran. He might have come back."

"Do I have to do this alone? Can't Star or Cy…"

"Sorry Beast Boy, we're all looking in other parts of the city. Speaking of which, has anyone actually found anything?"

"Nothing by the docks," Cyborg called in.

"I have not found any sign of Slade either," answered Starfire.

"And no reports on any break-ins or other disturbances," said Raven.

"We'll just have to keep looking," Robin told them. "Over and out."

Beast Boy sighed as he looked around the now abandoned hideout. Gears and piles of rubble lay everywhere. It was dark and cold, and he was tired. He was sure that Slade wasn't here. So why should he keep looking? He quickly changed into a rat. At least in this form he might finish faster. Suddenly, his ears picked up a noise he hadn't been able to hear as a human. A banging noise. He quietly changed back into himself.

"Guys," he said into the communicator, "I heard something."

"What is it?" Robin responded immediately.

"I dunno. Should I check it out?"

"Yes, but keep yourself hidden. Call us as soon as you find out what it is."

Beast Boy shut his communicator as quietly as he could before changing into a mouse. He listened to find the source of the noise, and then followed it quickly.

_Okay, just keep calm, only a noise, right? _He thought. He followed the sound into a hallway leading off from the main room. _Who knew Slade's place was so huge?_ He said to himself as he moved further down the hall.

After a few minutes, he found himself standing in front of a large metal door. The banging sound was much louder now. It was as if someone were beating a hammer against an anvil, metal on metal. He took a deep breath before squeezing underneath it. As soon as he looked up he spotted the cause of the noise. Pulling himself out quickly, Beast Boy ran a little way down the hall.

Changing back into human form and pulling out his communicator again, he sent a message to the rest of the titans.

"Uh, guys? I think you need to see this…"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Robin was getting frustrated. The team had started searching as soon as they got the probes out of their systems. No one had found anything, and Beast Boy's complaining was just getting him even more aggravated.

Robin was currently standing in a dead-end alleyway. He was sure he had seen something behind that dumpster, but it was becoming increasingly clear to him that his paranoid mind was playing tricks on him. It was already two days since he had seen Slade, and, on some level, he knew that the trail was cold. He just wanted to be sure…

"Uh, guys? I think you need to see this…"

"What is it? Did you find him?" Robin practically yelled into his radio.

"Yes, please, tell us." Starfire's voice came in.

"Jeez, Robin, keep it down. She might hear you," Beast Boy said gruffly.

"She?" asked Raven.

"Who's there Beast Boy?" Robin tried to ask quieter this time.

"Some girl. She's stuck or something. And she's not too happy about it."

"We're on our way. Everyone, meet in the warehouse."

"Make sure you go to the main room." Beast Boy added. "I'll show you where she is from there."

_Since when did Beast Boy give orders?_ "Yeah, meet in the main room," Robin added.

"Can do," radioed Cyborg.

Focused now on getting to the warehouse, Robin ran back down the alleyway, using the dumpster to jump onto the roof of the building at the end. From there, he knew, it was a straight run over the adjacent rooftops. He was reminded of the night, not too long ago, that Slade had sent him out this way, to steal that thermal blaster.

"…_and remember, If your little friends come to pay you a visit, not a word to any of them."_

_Robin nodded._

"_Good, Robin. Now go. I'll be watching." Slade turned his attention back to the four monitors, watching his probes snake their way through each of the other titans' bodies. For a moment, Robin thought about attacking him. Deciding it was too risky, he simply turned and left._

_If only I had done something sooner, _Robin thought as he entered through the same window that he had left from that night. He landed on a piece of the broken balcony that used to run all around the room. Shaking off the memory, he looked around and saw that the rest of the team was waiting for him in the middle of the large room.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

"I believe it is safe to assume that Slade did not want to be followed," Starfire said as she looked around at the ruins of the warehouse. She stood with Cyborg and Raven, waiting for Robin to show up, and for Beast Boy too. Where could they be? She had been anxious about Robin, especially, ever since they had rescued him from Slade.

"Yeah, but BB said he found someone else here," Cyborg said. "Wonder who she is?"

"And how she got here," added Raven.

"Only one way to find out," said Robin, stepping out from the shadows and joining them. Starfire gave a little sigh of relief.

Robin looked around. "Where's Beast Boy?"

"Hey, dudes, over here!" called a familiar voice. They all turned to see Beast Boy standing at the entrance to a hallway. "Follow me!"

He led them to a metal door. At first they were all a bit taken aback at the sound coming from it. Not only was there the original noise Beast Boy had heard; now they could definitely tell there was someone in there. An angry someone.

"I had no idea your language could be used in such a foul way," Starfire remarked.

"So, how do we do this?" Cyborg asked.

"Leave it to me," said Raven. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

The door glowed black as Raven took control over it, then returned to its former state. Nothing happened for a moment. Without warning the door fell inwards with a loud crash, kicking up a huge cloud of dust and powdered debris. The swearing and banging inside stopped.

"Well, that's one way," Cyborg said meekly.

"Come on," Robin said as he made his way towards the settling cloud of dirt. Each of them followed closely behind him. Robin drew out his bostaff. Cyborg aimed his cannon at the doorway, Starfire and Raven summoned their powers, and Beast Boy changed into a wolf. As they stepped into the room the dust began to settle slowly. They were able to make out a silhouette through it. Starfire lifted her arm and shone her starbolt brighter, revealing that it was…

A girl. Just like Beast Boy said. Not much older than Starfire herself, actually, but a little shorter. And chunkier. Not fat, but athletic. She was sitting on the ground against the far wall, staring at them all as if she was ready to take them on herself, despite the fact that long chains attached to her wrists and ankles held her to that wall.

The titans relaxed. She wasn't a threat.

"Who are you?" Robin asked.

"I could ask you the same question, pretty boy." The girl retorted.

Well, not a physical threat.

"I'm Robin. We're the Teen Titans." He answered in as firm a voice he could.

"I am Starfire. Please, what is your name? We are here to help," Starfire put in. She didn't want to see anyone in such a condition, even if they were a bit mean. As the air finally cleared, Starfire was able to get a good look at this girl.

The girl's hair was long and dark, but clearly greasy and in need of a comb. The dress she wore may have been white at one point, but it was stained all different colors and torn in a few places. If it wasn't so dirty it would have been pretty, an off the shoulder mini with shorts sewn in under a skirt that had ridden up to reveal them. A wide metal necklace made of many gold colored squares ran over the space between her shoulder and neck, dipped down just under her collarbone, then ran back up between her neck and other shoulder. Her skin was olive colored; she looked like she could be Greek or Spanish, if not for her eyes.

Those eyes seemed to stare right through Starfire when the girl looked at her. They would have been piercing anyways, but her glare was intensified by the white irises, rimmed with black. Both she and the entire room reeked of urine and God knows what else.

"My name is Rhea," the girl answered, "and why are _you_ going to help _me_?"

"We ask the questions here." Raven answered. "Ever heard of Slade, Rhea?" she asked in a patronizing tone.

Rhea turned her full gaze on Raven. Starfire would have shriveled under that stare.

"Heard of him?" she laughed coldly, "He created me."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Each titan had the exact same reaction in their mind. Only Beast Boy said it out loud.

"Created?"

"Like…a father?" Cyborg said.

"Try mad scientist." Rhea answered. "Now if you guys aren't going to get me out of here…" she lifted the chains around her hands, getting ready to start pounding them against the wall bracket again.

"Wait," Robin said. "How do we know you don't work for Slade?"

"Listen, sweet-pants, if I worked for him, why would he leave me behind?"

_What's wrong with my pants?_, Robin thought.

"Perhaps to infiltrate our team, and cause our destruction?" Starfire suggested.

* * *

A.N.: Sound familiar?

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"If I was gonna do that, I wouldn't have told you that he created me, hence causing this conversation, hence forcing me to come up with reasons why I don't work for Slade. Got it Barbie?"

"Hey, listen," Beast Boy interrupted, "I found you here and I called the others 'cause I thought you needed help. But if you want to handle this on your own, we can go do something more important."

At that Rhea looked to Beast Boy. She didn't stare him down, just looked him over. He cringed nonetheless, his show of bravado short-lived.

"Alright, I'm sorry I seem so rude. But frankly, I don't know you guys either. Just because you say you're here to help doesn't mean you believe my story or that you're actually going to help me."

This sudden politeness caught the titans off guard.

"Well, we're heroes. It's kind of taken for granted that we're here to help," Raven said.

"Touché, mam'selle. I suppose I'll have to trust you, before you trust me?" The girl arched her eyebrow at them.

They gave each other a look, before Robin spoke. "If you don't mind, we're going to have to keep those chains on you, until we figure something out." He winced a little on the inside when Rhea looked him up and down as she had done to Beast Boy. How did Raven take a full blown glare from her?

"Very well," she sighed and held up her hands, "do what you want. It's better than starving to death here."

Raven came forward and easily broke off the chains close to where they attached to the wall. "See you guys at the tower," she said before drawing her cloak around them both and vanishing.


	5. Chapter 5

A.N.: So, I've written five chapters so far, If you want me to keep going, tell me so in your review! Also, don't hesitate to, you know, review it and tell me what I can change.

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Chapter 5:

To say that Raven didn't trust Rhea would have been an understatement so vast, the universe could fit in it ten times over. At that moment, she loathed her. Raven had been ready to go out and take on Slade, not babysit some girl with split-personality and B.O. issues. Raven wasn't able to take it any longer.

Seated on the couch next to Rhea, she turned, covering her nose with her cloak. "Any chance you can maybe…shower with those chains on?"

Rhea, who had one elbow propped on the back of the couch and her legs tucked up under her, answered, "Sure, if you want them to rust through and be forced to carry me everywhere."

"Fine, but just let me do something about that smell." She went to go search for some air freshener. Beast Boy burping in her face would have been better than that smell.

"Hey, no problem. I know that I smell, I just can't smell it myself anymore. Five days stuck in that room, and your nose would be gone too."

_Five? Slade's only been gone for two…_

Raven found some freshener that said 'summer breeze' on it. She started spraying the area around the couch until the bottle was half empty.

"Hmm," Raven replied. She finished spraying and sat back down on the couch. Rhea sat up and leaned forward a little, her feet resting on the floor and her elbows resting on her knees. Her chains rattled. Raven looked at her. She was leaning a little too far forward…

"Rhea!" Raven lunged forward and caught her before she fell all the way off of the couch.

"What? Oh, sorry, I…" Raven was dragging her to her feet. With a grunt she threw one of the girl's arms over her shoulder as she pulled her towards the door leading to the rest of the tower.

"Hey! Let me go!" Rhea made a feeble attempt to break loose.

"No. I'm bringing you to the sick bed," Raven said determinedly.

"I thought I was a prisoner?"

"Not a prisoner, a suspect. And besides," Raven added with an inward grin, "it has restraints built-in." _So I don't have to babysit._


	6. Chapter 6

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So even though there are ZERO reviews on this, I just had to write another chapter. Please review!!!! Seriously!!

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Chapter 6:

"What took you guys so long?" Raven said as the rest of the team entered. They were all dirty and tired. Robin felt just plain pissed off. Raven was sitting at a table outside of the sick room, where she could keep an eye on Rhea through a one-way glass panel in the wall.

"We were looking around the room we found Rhea in," Cyborg answered. "We found these." He spilled what he was carrying onto a metal table outside of the sick room. Raven bent her head in to look at what they were. They were long, rounded plates of a gold colored metal, with straps around the concave side. Six of them, almost like the things Slade wore, minus shoulder pads.

"Armor?" She asked.

"Yeah. Must be hers." Cyborg said, jerking his thumb towards the one-way glass, behind which they could see Rhea sleeping strapped to the bed.

"What happened to her?" Beast Boy asked.

"She was dehydrated and starving," Raven answered. "She told me that Slade locked her in that room for five days, so he must have been punishing her for something."

"Or she's setting us up," Robin cut in. "Did she say anything else?"

"No. She almost fainted so I brought her here and gave her some food. She looks like she'll be alright, with some sleep."

"We don't have time for that," Robin said furiously. He made his way towards the door of the room.

"Robin, what are you doing?"

Surprised, Robin spun around to look at Starfire. "What am I doing? I'm going to ask her some questions, that's what I'm doing."

"But Robin," Starfire said, stepping closer, "would it not be more beneficial to our mission if we instead let her sleep?"

"What?" He answered in a dangerous whisper. "Let her sleep? She might be a criminal Starfire! I have to know." He went to open the door again.

"Hey man, take it easy. It won't hurt to…"Cyborg said. He reached over and grabbed Robin's arm. Robin spun around and angrily pushed his hand away.

"No! Slade's out there somewhere, and this girl might know where. Am I the only one here who want to find him?"

"Dude, of course we do," Beast Boy said, "but it won't help going totally coo coo-bananas over it."

Robin turned back toward the door. _What was wrong with them? Had they been so determined to get him back that they forgot the real mission was to get Slade?_

He looked up and saw Starfire blocking his path. "Robin, I think you may also need to take the break."

"Get out of my way, Star," Robin said through clenched teeth.

"But Robin, this can't…" Robin cut her off by grabbing her by the arm.

"I gave you an order…" he growled.

"…_If you won't attack, my probes will."_

No. Not that. Please, no.

_But it was too late. He looked down. Beast Boy, Cyborg, Raven, they were all lying on the ground, groaning in pain. A disgusting orange glow was emanating from them as the nano-scopic machines attacked their insides. He looked back towards Starfire. She too, was in pain. As she got weaker and weaker, she could no longer fly. Reaching out, he caught her before she fell far._

"_Stop, please stop!"He begged._

"_Do it, Robin. It's the only way to save them. Attack with everything you've got," said Slade's voice, like poison in his ear._

_It was causing her so much pain. His heart was breaking. He had to do it..._

_He set her down._

"_Robin…" _

_He ignored her hand reaching for his._

"_I'm sorry."_

He let go of her arm as quickly as he had grabbed it. Suddenly all his anger was gone. He looked up into her eyes, once again filled with fear. Fear of him.

"I-I'm sorry," he whispered. Robin turned and looked towards his friends. His team. The respect, loyalty, trust they had always had in him was now gone from their eyes. He turned and started walking towards his room.

"I'm sorry."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Her eyes opened slowly, making the world appear in blurry snapshots. After a few blinks her vision cleared and she could see four of the five titans were in the room. Three stood around the bed that she vaguely remembered that girl, Raven, had brought her to. Raven stood at a large, beeping, flashing, monstrosity of a machine looking at dashes and squiggles that meant nothing to her.

"Hey, she's awake," the green one said.

Raven turned around and spoke to her. "Are you alright?"

She tried to lift her arms to her face and realized that they were strapped down. "I...yeah... I think so."

"Good," Raven replied. "There's nothing unusual coming in from our scanners either, so you just might be."

"But you still have a lot to tell us," said the half-robot, half-human, crossing his arms.

"Yes, we must know, for the good of all," Starfire said firmly.

Rhea looked around at each of them, finally looking at the desk next to her head. She had never told anyone about her life. No one had ever asked. On the desk sat an empty bowl. She suddenly remembered Raven had brought her soup after she nearly fell off the couch. She had said that Robin and the others would come soon…

"Hey, where's the kid with the spiky hair?"

"_Robin_ is working on tracking down Slade," the green boy said, "and don't change the subject."

Rhea sighed. She gave a slight tug at her restraints with her right wrist. It wasn't like she had a choice; she had to tell them something. Might as well be the truth.

"Will you believe me?" She asked.

"We'll try," Cyborg said.

She paused again. It was going to be hard, like most things in her life were. _If it wasn't for this dumb necklace_, she thought, _I'd be long gone, like he is. No, if it wasn't for _him_, I wouldn't _be_ in this mess at _all_. It's his fault. So…I really ought to help them._

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything," Raven said.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

Rhea took a deep breath. And she started from the beginning.

"I don't know who my parents were, or are, if they're still alive. Not like I care. I grew up in this city. On these streets. I was lucky. I didn't get into a whole lot of trouble, 'cus Grandma was always there. Of course, she wasn't really my Grandma. But she took in lots of us orphans, and she told us to call her Grandma. So we did. They were my real family. We lived in the park, on a few benches under a big tree. Sure, we stole food, and when we were really little we picked pockets, and the only teenager stole from stores, but that was all to survive. We were never to steal for fun. Anything we took that we couldn't use Grandma sold, so that at least sometimes we could buy food the right way.

The best thing about her, though, was that she taught us math and writing and stuff. Not a lot of kids who grow up the way I did can say that. The best thing was learning how to read. She'd bring us to the library and always pick out the old stories. She'd get the ones about dragons and knights, or gods and goddesses, even old heroes like Gilgamesh; legends from England, Ancient Rome and Greece, China, all over the world. I never asked her, but I think she was a real classy lady until she hit hard times and had to go on the street. I think that's why she was so nice. She knew anyone could end up at the bottom.

For protection, and for fun, three of us kids always stuck together. Grandma would stay in the park with the two very little kids to beg during the day. Me and the other two were all around the same age and would go out to pick pockets. We always goofed off after we had gotten maybe three wallets. That was when I met Slade for the first time. Although it wasn't the first time he met me."

She stopped for a while. The titans looked at each other.

"Well?" asked the green one.

"What?"

"What happened when you met Slade?"

"Well, uh…" Rhea began.

"Beast Boy," the green boy said.

"Well, Beast Boy…it's complicated."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

_Why was this so complicated,_ he asked himself_, I've only been gone for two months, maybe, at most. Why can't they move on?_

Robin continued to pace back and forth in front of the many newspaper clippings he had pinned up. Articles about all the good things that the Titans had done. Then there were ones about Mumbo, Cinderblock, Plasmus. Slade. His face seemed to leer at Robin from every corner, every front page. But now, when he wanted to find him most, he was nowhere to be seen.

He stopped in front of one of the papers. Its headline screamed, "SUPER-VILLAN IN HIDING." A large black and white drawing of Slade's mask filled the entire page. Below it, the caption continued, "AND WHAT DO THE TITANS HAVE TO DO WITH HIS LATEST CRIMES?"

He grimaced angrily and punched the wall. It wasn't his fault for being kidnapped, was it? What did they expect him to do? Say, _okay, sure, kill my innocent friends; I didn't like them much anyways_? What did it matter if he was friends with the people he was protecting or not? He hadn't said he was only going to protect innocent _strangers_. Innocent people were innocent people, no matter what. At that thought he stopped pacing.

_But I've been treating them like criminals._

He turned away from the newspapers and leaned against the wall, staring at the floor. _It's felt like an eternity since I came back. All this anger, this need to find Slade, It's been blinding me to what's really important. _

He straightened up and looked at his nightstand. On it sat the picture of Beast Boy's last birthday party, where they had all gone out to get completely vegetarian pizza. As he looked at each of his friends faces, he reflected. _They're not the ones who aren't moving on. _His eyes came to rest on his own face, smiling, happy. _It's me._

Opening his door, Robin turned right and headed toward the sick room.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

Robin quietly opened the door and slipped into the room. Rhea was talking. He walked over to the bed and stood next to Starfire. Quietly, he reached over and, for a moment, squeezed her hand.

"Well, Beast Boy...It's complicated...but I'll give it a try."

* * *

"Don't fall off!" Roxanne shouted at Jimmy. She was always shouting at Jimmy.

"Dummy, I ain't fallin' off nothin'." Jimmy said back. He was concentrating on making it across the rotten two-by-four bridging the gap between two abandoned garages. It was our favorite game. It was getting dark, and we were worried that we would get home too late for dinner. But we had to wait for Jimmy.

"You fell off last time an Grandma got mad at _me_ instead of _you_ for not bein' careful. Even though _you_ was the dummy for fallin'." Roxanne complained.

"Was not!" Jimmy made it to the other side. He was smiling. He had a really beautiful smile. It lit up his whole face, from his brown hair hanging over his forehead to the brown freckles that decorated his cheeks.

Everything about Jimmy was brown, brown jacket, brown shoes, brown eyes. It might have been depressing, but Jimmy was such a good kid he even made brown look happy. Made it happier than yellow, than red, than any other bright color, just because it was his favorite.

"Was too. 'sides, I'm suppose to take care of you, seein' as I'm older." Roxanne folded her arms and stuck her tongue out at Jimmy over her shoulder. He stuck his hands on his hips and scowled at her.

"You're not that old!"

"Am too. Grandma says I'm 'bout to be _ten_ real soon." Jimmy was turning purple with anger. He was only nine.

"Yeah, well I'm 'bout to be _eleven_, so go jump on a nail, air head!" I said. Nobody ever swore around Jimmy. Even Michele, who was fifteen, would say "holy cow" and "darn it" when he was around.

"Am not an air head!" Now Roxanne had her hands on her hips and was turning purple. Jimmy always laughed when he saw her angry, which was often. Combined with her bright red hair and green eyes, she was a walking rainbow when she was mad.

"Are too! I can look in your ear an see out the other side, 'cus there's nothin' in between. Right Jimmy?"

"Uh-huh, I can't see nothin' either. You's an air head all right!"

"_You're_ an air head, not _you's_!" Roxanne shouted.

"Fine, _you're_ an air head!" Jimmy put his thumbs in his ears and wiggled his fingers at her.

"Am not! I'm gonna tell Grandma on you!"Roxanne grabbed onto a ladder that was attached to the side of the garage and jumped down. Jimmy and I followed.

"No you ain't!" He hit the ground before me and started running after Roxanne, who was almost out of the alley and on the street. I jumped down the last few steps and landed on all fours.

"Charming friends you have, Rhea," said a deep voice behind me. It sent a shiver down my spine.

I turned around quickly. I could see the outline of a man in the gloom. I took a few steps back, afraid to run, afraid to stay still.

"Who are you?"

"We have plenty of time for introductions later. You need to come with me." He stepped out from the shadows. His armor gleamed dangerously in the light of a lamp hung over a nearby back door. I stared at his mask, half orange and half black, with only one eye. I was terrified.

"Stay away from me! I'll scream!" I tried to step back further, but found I was frozen in fear.

He laughed coldly. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Oh yeah? Watch me." I tried to sound brave.

"No, why don't you watch me?" I saw him reach for something in his belt. He pulled out a small flat screen and held it in front of me. I couldn't believe what I saw.

"Grandma…"

It was her, and the others, sitting under our tree in the park. I saw the food they had gotten for dinner. They were talking about their day, huddled together. They had no idea he was watching them.

"You see, I know who your friends are, and where you live, and what they do every day. And even if you manage to escape from me today, you will not be so lucky in the future. You really _do_ need to come with me."

I thought. I really didn't _want_ to go with him. I had heard about what happened to the kids who went with strange men. And this guy was definitely a strange man. I had heard that they had tricks like saying they knew where you lived and what you did…

…and who your friends were.

"Your choice." He put the screen back into his pocket and held his hand out to me.

I was done thinking. This was too real to be a trick.

I took his hand. Without a word, he led me towards the shadows he came from, away from the light.


End file.
